3D Printed Furniture Designs: Best Options of 2024
Since 3D printing became widely used, the furniture design industry has been through a period of radical change. Making useful and visually beautiful furniture with 3D printing is far more difficult than making simple decorative objects. Professional and amateur designers alike have taken up the challenge in recent years, creating stunning examples of 3D printed furniture. This article takes a look at 3D printed furniture, specifically at the best designs of 2023 that combine old-school workmanship with modern technology.
1. The Hybrid Furniture by Jon Christie
Veteran British furniture designer Jon Christie offers fresh insight to the field of 3D printed furnishings. Christie, who has been making furniture the old-fashioned way for 20 years, has mastered the art of 3D printing with ease. During his time as an undergraduate, he became interested in 3D printing as a means to improve upon conventional furniture manufacture through the use of additive manufacturing.
One of Christie's most impressive handcrafted pieces is the "Saul Dining Table & Chairs," a set that cleverly integrates 3D printed joints with wood. Greater personalization, shorter production periods, and less waste are all possible outcomes of this fusion, which also exemplifies the harmonic union of ancient and modern approaches. By fusing the classic beauty of wood with the modern technology of 3D printing, the "Saul" series exemplifies how furniture design has progressed.
Designer: John Christie
Source: Jon Christie.
2. Wilkhahn Printstool One
The Printstool One, a product of German manufacturer Wilkhahn and designed by Thorsten Franck, exemplifies the potential of industrial 3D printing in the furniture industry. The organic biopolymer lignin used to make this 3D printed stool is fully biodegradable. Using non-3D printed components enhances the unique design and helps with the assembly procedure, which is speedy.
Although it is part of Wilkhahn's high-end office furniture collection, the Printstool One is not widely available; in fact, there was only an initial run of 500 pieces. This stool is sure to be a sought-after addition to any eco-conscious office, thanks to its high-quality construction and less price.
Price: $5 to $10
Source: ALCH
3. Model N°
Model N° is an industry trailblazer in 3D printed furniture, with a goal of disrupting conventional production techniques. The California-based firm uses recycled wood and unique plant-based polymers to make products that are both eco-friendly and easy to recycle. In addition, they use organic fabrics, energy-efficient FDM printers driven by solar and wind power, and non-toxic finishes as part of their eco-friendly approach.
You may get a wide variety of furniture at Model N°, including tables, chairs, and lamps. Customers are able to take advantage of the personalization possibilities of 3D printing thanks to their print-on-demand service and their focus on sustainability. Model N° is an example of sustainable and beautiful 3D printed furniture that aims to create spaces with harmonious shapes while minimising environmental effect.
Designer: Model N° team
Source: Model N°.
4. Sofa So Good
"Sofa So Good'' is the brainchild of American 3D printing specialist Janne Kyttanen, who challenges conventional wisdom in the design realm. Using 3D System's ProX950, this SLA 3D printed lounger features a mesh pattern that looks like a spider web with metal coating.
The lounge's remarkable quality is its material economy. Kyttanen manages to be both structurally strong and remarkably lightweight with just 2.5 litres of resin, which is the same as 6,000 layers. The Sofa So Good has a length of 1.5 metres and a weight of 2.5 kilogrammes, but it can still sustain up to 100 kilograms. Even though it's not for sale, this design shows how far 3D printing can go in terms of making beautiful, sturdy furniture.
Designer: Janne Kyttanen
Source: Janne Kyttanen.
5. Batoidea Chair & Footstool
Peter Donders of Belgium created the Batoidea chair and footstool, which are outstanding examples of how art and technology can coexist. These 3D printed furniture pieces, inspired by the elegant stingray shape, are part of a special edition collection and will bring a one-of-a-kind elegance to any room.
The craftsmanship behind the Batoidea set is almost as remarkable as its design. In a method similar to that used to make the engine core for a Ferrari, Donders used 3D printed sand moulds. Each element relies on five sand moulds, and the Augsburg, Germany, Voxeljet service centre was important in their production. A further factor in the exorbitant price tag is the painstaking painting of the thin-walled aluminium cast components, a process that Ferrari uses on its supercars.
Designer: Peter Donders
Price: $26,400
Source: Peter Donders.
6. Krill Design
The Italian company Krill Design is well-known in the 3D printing furniture industry for its eco-friendly products and creative material utilisation. Rekrill is the company's new line of 3D printing filaments made from recycled materials including tomato and orange rinds, coffee grounds, eggshells and coffee. This one-of-a-kind method unites environmental friendliness with visual appeal by producing printed furniture with distinctive textures.
Collaborations between Krill Design and prominent Italian enterprises demonstrate that 3D printing is a viable option for environmentally conscious mass production. Krill Design has a variety of furniture, clocks, lamps, vases, and more in three separate collections made from various materials.
Designers: Ivan Calimani, Yack H. Di Maio, Martina Lamperti
Pricing range: $35–$150
Source: Krill Design.
7. Rio Collection
Morgan Furniture and Studio Integrate's Rio Collection is a perfect example of how conventional furniture materials can work in harmony with 3D printing technology. This ensemble deftly combines wood, glass, and 3D printed lattice structures; it includes a side table, a pair of chairs with backrests, and more.
Studio Integrate utilised a computer algorithm to optimise the structure's weight-supporting capabilities while minimising material usage in its complicated lattice architecture. Our resin (SLA) and polyamide powder (SLS) options produce aesthetically pleasing designs. The Rio Collection, which debuted at the 2016 London Design Festival, investigates the relationship between modern and future forms of handicraft.
Designer: Studio Integrate
Source: Morgan Furniture.
8. Multithread
Designers Reed Kram and Clemens Weisshaar's Multithread goes beyond conventional furniture by incorporating 3D printed joints into various pieces of furniture such as desks, shelves, and tables. The German-Swedish team, famous for their openness to new technologies, used bespoke software to strengthen lattice structures so they could resist mechanical stresses.
Careful post-processing, including hand-polishing and custom-painting, was performed on the joints that were formed by selective laser melting (SLM), taking into account the mechanical stress that was imposed. The completed pieces showcased at the 2013 Istanbul Design Biennial and 2012 Milan's Nilufar Gallery demonstrate how 3D printed furniture combines technology with artistry.
Creators: Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram
Source: KramWeisshaar.
9. Reform Lounge Chair
An excellent illustration of how sustainability, artistic expression, and three-dimensional furniture design can come together is the Reform Lounge Chair, which is the brainchild of Sweden's Reform Design Lab. This unexpectedly printed lounge chair by designer Jurih Rahimkulov has a unique vertical stripe texture as it stands upright, defying expectations. Elegantly folding upon itself, the chair's design forms a visually fascinating and comfortable reclining seat, evoking memories of old-fashioned ribbon candy.
Made from DuraSense®, a biocomposite derived from wood fibres, the Reform Lounge Chair is an example of the studio's dedication to using large-scale 3D printing to combine art, technology, sustainability, and luxury. Showcased in esteemed events like the Salone del Mobile in 2022 and the Stockholm Furniture Fair in 2023, this chair exemplifies the beauty of 3D printing and the significance of sustainable materials in modern furniture design.
Designer: Jurih Rahimkulov
Source: Reform Lounge Chair.
10. Kelp Collection by Interesting Times Gang
The Interesting Times Gang's Kelp Collection defies categorization as furniture by taking its cues from the curving shapes of marine plants native to the Swedish archipelago. The organic curves of the bar stool, chair and low stool in this seating arrangement are evocative of seaweed blowing in the wind.
The Kelp Collection isn't just pretty; it's also very environmentally conscious. Made using repurposed materials such as fishing nets, old marine gear, and wood fibre, these furniture pieces demonstrate a dedication to eco-friendly manufacturing processes. Pelletizing and printing the materials using state-of-the-art 3D manufacturing technology is a concrete example of how design may help bring attention to issues of consumerism and waste.
Source: Kelp Collection.
Best 3D Furniture Design Software
There are a lot of furniture design software available that you can use to prepare your files, but we recommend using SelfCAD. SelfCAD is one of the best furniture modelling software. It is an easy to use 3D modeling software that runs both online as well as on Windows and MAC. It comes with interesting tools like freehand drawing and sketching that you can use to create designs from scratch. You can also import 2D drawings and then trace around it using sketching and drawing tools, as shown in the video below.
In addition to 3D modeling tools, SelfCAD also has a 3D rendering software that you can use to generate realistic renders of your houses after you are done 3D modeling. The video below shows how to render your files in SelfCAD.
If you would like to 3D print the prototype, you don’t need to switch to a different software; you can simply use the online slicer of SelfCAD to prepare your designs for 3D printing. Get to know how to slice your files in the software and get the Gcode to send to your 3D printer.
Conclusion
The 3D-printed furniture is a novel test of additive manufacturing's production capability. These innovative designs demonstrate how sustainability, art, and technology can coexist and indicate how the furniture industry may develop. Advances in 3D printing will allow more people to make furniture cheaply. Unthinkable furniture design possibilities have emerged from 3D printing. 3D printing is already transforming interior design, and its adaptability and widespread application will only grow.
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